The One That Mattered the Most
by nannygirl
Summary: Red's heart attack in 'Celebration Day' shakes everyone but especially Laurie. Can a talk between father and daughter help ease a few of her worries? Find out in this oneshot!


_**Disclaimer: **__I own nothing. I do not own That '70s Show or any of it's characters or the episode that this story is based off of. I own nothing!_

_**Author's Note: **__Hello everyone! How are you all this Monday? Enjoy your weekend? Hope so. Today I have for you a little oneshot that I hope you all will enjoy. It's a little bit different but not really. This time the main characters are not a romantic kind of pairing or friendship either it's a family story with the main characters being Red and Laurie. Say what you want but I always liked the relationship the two of them had. Hopefully this story shows some reasons of why I feel this way. This story takes place right after 'Celebration Day' Again as I've stated before I hated that the aftermath of Red's heart attack was pretty much nothing. Could've made some great moments with the gang and especially the family, well if the writers didn't wanna do it this fan certainly will! This is my second post 'Celebration Day' story but don't worry you don't have to read that story or watch Celebration before reading this story but if you want to go for it! Details in the ending AN for other 'CD'fanfic. I hope you all like this story and if you can please leave a review with your thoughts, long, short, signed in not signed in your choice! Couple of quick thank yous and shout outs. First off shout out to TvFanaticDayDreamer who has some verynice Red and Laurie scenes in their story. A big thank you to JB (MidniteRaine) for his encouragement on this story. And a great big thank you to Marla (Marla's Lost) for once again being so wonderful and helping me with the title! And to you readers, thanks for stopping by to read, please do review if you can, hope you like, and please review!_

* * *

**The One That Mattered the Most**

She stared at the wooden door that would lead into the room she was couldn't bring herself to go into just yet. Everyone else had already filed in and out of there to go see him. Some went by themselves others in pairs; even the people he didn't like all that much had got to go into the room. Their visit had only lasted about a minute or so but it was a minute longer than anyone thought it would be.

The reminder of how the moron twins had been able to face their fears and gone in to see him, seemed to give her the little push she needed to do the same. She placed her hand on the door's handle and took a deep breath before pushing it open but that deep breath was useless when she saw the sight in front of her.

She knew it wouldn't be pretty but she hadn't expected…_this_.

There had been many, many, _many_ men in her life but this man in front of her was the one that mattered the most to her. She loved him and she knew that no matter what she did or said she could always turn to him and he'd be there ready to love and protect her. When she was little she used to think that this man was the strongest man alive, that he could take on Superman and win. But now, here was that same man lying in a hospital bed with wires from machines hooked to his chest and an IV's needle stuck in the crook of his arm. He looked so weak and fragile and it was all because of her.

"Daddy?" she called, her voice cracking.

He looked over at her, "Laurie."

"You didn't call me 'Kitten.'" The young blonde said in a small voice, holding in her tears that were shinning in her eyes as best as she could, "Does that mean you're mad at me?"

Red sighed before he shook his head, "No, I'm not mad at you, Kitten."

As soon as she heard him say the nickname he called her by since before she could remember, Laurie practically ran to her father's bedside and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. She was aware of the frightening wires but she couldn't care less about them, the only thing she wanted was to hug her daddy. She hadn't hugged him nearly enough before all of this—she now realized, but that would change…well if he was able to forgive her and didn't hate her as much as she thought he did. When she felt him put his arms around her, she tightened her grip and finally let her tears fall as she buried her face against his left shoulder.

It was several moments later when Laurie picked up her head, leaving behind a wet stain on the tacky hospital gown that he wore.

"But you should be, Daddy." she sniffled, "I almost…killed you."

"Kitten, you didn't almost do anything." Red used a firm tone to try to reassure her of this, "It was that damn foreigner who gave me the heart attack."

She shook her head, "No, Daddy, it was just the foreign…Fez's fault. It was mine too. I was the one who came up with the idea of marrying him."

"You did what?" he demanded to know.

At that same moment the small steady beeping sound that filled the room became louder and faster. It was like reliving the moment in the driveway all over again—those were the same words he'd said before the signs of a heart attack became apparent. With wide scared eyes, Laurie backed off the bed and watched her father; she wanted to go out and get help but she was frozen with fear.

She'd given her father _another_ heart attack! She needed to leave before she really did kill him.

Noticing the terrified expression that showed on Laurie's face, Red took in a few deep breaths hoping to call himself but mostly quiet down the noisy beeps that he knew were part of the cause behind his daughter's terror. After a few minutes, the beeping returned to normal and Red got ready to speak again but Laurie beat him to it.

"I was just trying to help." She said softly, now sitting down in the chair at his bedside with her gaze fixated on the ground.

Red closed his eyes and nodded, "I know. You came back home to try to help people." he recalled what she'd told him upon her latest return but couldn't help scowling when he asked his next question, "But why did you have to help Ali Baba?"

Laurie shrugged but still didn't meet his eyes, "It wasn't only him I was trying to help. It was Eric too. I knew he would be sad if he lost his friend and I didn't want him to be sad, so I…" she stopped herself when she remembered the last time she mentioned the M word. "Did what I did."

For a few seconds he watched her almost suspiciously, before he spoke again, "You're not just saying that to put some of the blame on your brother are you?"

She looked at him and struggled to keep her smile from getting too big, "Maybe."

Red shook his head and chuckled lightly at his daughter. She smiled at his reaction, she liked it better when she was making her father laugh and not giving him heart attacks.

"Does he know?"

Her smile dropped suddenly, "What?"

"Eric. Does he know you did this to help him out?" Red asked in that fatherly tone.

"No. It's not like he'd believe me anyway." Laurie replied with a scoff that made Red frown; she continued, "He still thinks I'm a cold, heartless b..rat. He doesn't think I've changed. No one does. And especially not now." She said as she once again thought about event that she had not only almost lost her father to but one she had helped cause as well; the tears began to build up again, "I can never do anything right. I should've never come home."

Her eyes were back to focusing on the ground and her golden locks were covering her face but it was obvious that she was crying by the way her voice broke when she spoke and the evident teardrops that fell onto her lap.

Seeing your little girl cry was a sight that pained every father and Red Forman was no different. And getting a sort of déjà vu to when she was a baby and crying, he immediately wanted to stop her crying and make her feel better.

"Come here, Kitten."

Teary-eyed she turned to him and saw his left arm lifted up in the air, telling her to move herself into the open space. Laurie slowly stood from her seat and then carefully climbed into the bed—this time being cautious of the wires connected to her father. She laid under his arm and cuddled up closer to his body.

It made her feel like she was a little girl again, being comforted by her father after a nightmare, but she didn't mind. In fact, she almost wished this had all been a terrible nightmare and she was still that little girl. Things had been simple back then, her daddy was the only man she needed in her life and she hadn't made all the horrible mistakes that she was trying to fix now.

"Laurie, you're not cold or heartless. You're like me." he began to tell her, "You're tough, witty…"

"And smart?" she looked up at him with a growing smile.

Red was silent for a few seconds before nodding his head, "Well I'd never marry a foreigner just to keep him in the country but alright, smart."

Laurie's smile suddenly dropped and she pouted abit, Red caught this and continued on with what he had to say.

"Look the point is, I know the reason you came back home was to change and improve your life. You wanted to help the people around you, right?" he questioned and feeling her nod against him, Red went on, "These past few weeks, I've seen you do that. You help your mother with the chores around the house, you ask me how my day was, and you're not fighting with your brother as much. They're little things, but they're there, and I'm proud of you."

She lifted her head up and off of him and smiled a tight smile, "Thanks, Daddy."

He returned the smile but in a much smaller form, then cleared his throat for his next statement, "Now as far as your bother goes…well…he's a dumbass. It'll take him a while before he realizes you've changed and he may never figure out that you…_did what you did_…to help him and the rest of his dopehead friends out. But the important thing is that you know it."

Though she didn't exactly like what he'd said she did understand and she slowly nodded her head again.

"And you know what's even more important than that?" he asked.

"What?"

His smile grew as he looked down at her, "That I'm glad you're back home."

Laurie's smiled reappeared, larger than before, and she then threw her arms around him for another gripping hug. Those words meant so much to her. Perhaps even more than the ones that told her that he was proud of her. She was happy to hear her father say those words too but hearing this…he was glad that she was back. Someone was actually happy about her being home and that made her feel happy to be home, for once. Maybe this time she would stay for good.

She continued to hug him for several seconds and even when she let go she stayed on the hospital bed with him. Not that Red minded, he was enjoying this nice little father daughter moment, even if it had been caused by not so nice health crisis.

They stayed in the comfortable silence for awhile before Red interrupted the quietness with a heavy sigh.

"You know something," he started to say, "when you were a little girl, people would always ask me what kind of man I wanted you to marry."

Keeping her head rested on him, Laurie silently listened to his story.

"I'd tell them it didn't matter to me as long as he was a man who could provide and take care of you, a man who was loyal, a man who would make you happy." Red paused and looked down at his daughter, "Guess I should've added 'not a foreigner' too, huh?"

Laurie looked up at her father and couldn't help but laugh at his words; soon a grin broke out onto Red's face before he joined her in the laughter. Their shared laughter was interrupted though when there was a light knock on the door.

"Laurie, honey." A familiar voice called and the two looked over to see Kitty entering the room, "Visiting hours are over, you need to head on back home now."

More than a little reluctantly, Laurie pulled out of her father's embrace but remained seated on the bed. She didn't want to leave yet, she didn't want to leave at all. What if while everyone was at home something happened to her father? Maybe she could figure something else out.

"Oh okay. Are you going home too, Mommy?" she asked in a small voice as she watched her mother step closer to the left side of the bed.

Kitty shook her head, "No, no I think I'll be staying here tonight with your father to keep him company."

"Kitty…"Red got ready to protest about how he didn't need a damn babysitter.

"And so I won't have to sleep alone tonight." She added and Red didn't say another word, instead he nodded his head understandingly and grabbed a hold of her hand. Kitty turned her attention back to Laurie, "Eric's already left but I'm sure one of the boys will be happy to give you a ride home and if not just call up Eric at home, okay?'

Laurie nodded her head and started to move off the bed. She still wished she could stay but knowing that her mother would be here with her father did make her feel better. Now he wouldn't be alone and if something did happen she knew her mother would call home in an instant.

"Okay." She agreed, finally moving up onto her feet.

But she didn't leave the room just yet, instead she turned to Red and leaned down to give him one more hug.

"I'll come see you tomorrow, Daddy." Laurie told him when she finally let go.

Red smirked lightly, "I'll be here."

Laurie returned the smile. She knew that he hadn't said the words in a negative way. He wasn't saying he would still be here in the hospital because she had put him in it; he was reassuring her that he would still be here, alive, when she came to see him tomorrow. Before she left, Laurie gave a quick hug to her mother—if she was still feeling shaken up about this then her mother must have been a mess, even if she wasn't showing it.

She was at the semi-opened door when she turned back around to say one more goodbye but the words got caught in her throat when she saw the new scene before her.

Her mother was now seated in the chair at her father's bedside, her two small hands still clutching onto his one big one. They weren't saying anything but the way they were looking at each other, there really was no need for words.

Laurie continued to watch them; she knew her parents had a good marriage, that had never been the reason for her fear of marriage and commitment. In truth, she really wasn't scared by it at all. She knew she wanted to get married one day she just had to wait for Mr. Right and in the meantime she would enjoy having fun with a few Mr. Wrongs. But maybe it was time to start looking for Mr. Right. Maybe she'd already found him…maybe she was lucky enough and she'd already married him.

Not wanting to intrude on the moment Laurie shook her head and stepped out of the room. As she shut the hospital door behind her, she mentally shut the door to any more thoughts about marriage or her future. Today had enough serious, life evaluating moments, Laurie was ready to call it a day.

However, she hadn't moved two feet away from her father's room when her new husband appeared, as if on cue, from the end of the hall.

"Ah there is my new bride!" Fez greeted her as he neared her, a large grin on his face, "I have sent the good news to my parents. They should be getting my message in three to four months. Maybe."

"Great." she replied, clearly uninterested.

Fez didn't seemed to notice though and continued on, "How is Dad doing?"

"He's doing good." Laurie said, deciding to overlook him calling Red 'Dad.'

"Good." he nodding his head, his voice sounded relieved and it made Laurie smile a bit because he did care about her father. Her smile flattened though as he continued, "So are you ready for our honeymoon, sugarplum?"

She didn't take even a minute to think about her answer, "Yeah, I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that."

"Why?" Fez asked, his face wrinkling in confusion, "It is not raining. And we are married we are supposed to have a honeymoon and honeymoon sex."

"I'm just not in a honeymoon mood." Laurie may have snapped at him but how could he expect her to go on a honeymoon with him when her father was in the hospital?

The foreigner folded his arms over his chest and glared in the blonde's direction, "Oh great, we are married not one day and already the fake headaches have started!"

"Sorry." She said with a small shrug of her shoulders.

Fez's anger crumbled into a look of understanding and shame, "No, no. It is me who is sorry. Now is not Hanky Panky time. Mr. Red is in the hospital and you are sad. I should not take advantage of that. I will call you tomorrow to see how you are doing."

He leaned over and gave her chaste kiss on her cheek but Laurie barely even felt it. She was still in shock of his reaction and his words. In the rare times that she'd told a guy she wasn't in the mood they'd never acted the way Fez did. They wouldn't care about her feelings some wouldn't take no for an answer and keep pestering until she gave in just to shut them up. But Fez, he not only cared about her feelings but he understood them.

When she finally shook herself from her daze, Fez was already heading down the hallway to the entrance he'd come from moments ago.

"Fez, wait!" she called out to him, grabbing his attention instantly. However, not wanting to appear too eager or needy, Laurie decided to tone it down and be a bit coyer, "Mom is staying here with Daddy tonight, and my loser brother is already at home. I guess I'm left walking home. In the dark. All alone."

Right away Fez was able to sympathize with the blonde, "I know that feeling, I am walking home by myself too." he said somberly but quickly snapped out of it and raised an open palm, "Good luck to you!"

Laurie glared at the back of his head as he started to walk off again, "Fez!"

Fez was frightened by the fuming tone of voice she used—he quickly made his way back over to her—he knew she was not happy. Of course the angry frown indented on her forehead was a big hint. He didn't know why she was angry though but knew figuring it out was one of his husbandly duties.

"Ooohh!" he said after several second, finally figuring it out, "You want me to walk you home?"

"If you want to." Laurie replied, going back to her coyness and giving a shy smile which made Fez grin back at her.

"Yes, yes I do. I will walk you back home so you will not have to be alone in the scary dark streets. And because I am you husband it is my job to protect you from anything or anyone who crosses our path!" he paused suddenly and the courage in his voice diminished, "Unless it is the Peterson's dog. Then you are on your own, baby!"

Laurie laughed at the mention of the Peterson's little Chihuahua dog and the way her husband appeared to be so intimated by it. Her smile grew even more when he offered her his bent left arm and she looped her right one through it. Then, arm in arm the newlywed couple walked down the hospital hallway and towards its exit.

**The End**

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__So what did you think? Yay? Nay? Lemme know in a review!_

_Oh and the other post-Celebration Day story of mine is "The Cigarette Conversation" it's a Hyde and Kitty one. Family themed once again. And I have a feeling these two stories won't be my only post-Celebration Day fanfics, but we'll see._

_Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, take care, and have a nice day!_


End file.
